


convalescence

by zaradrinkscoffee



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Healing, Katara (Avatar)-centric, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Zuko (Avatar)-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:40:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29419527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaradrinkscoffee/pseuds/zaradrinkscoffee
Summary: recovery: the act of returning to normalKatara always thought that ending the war would be the hard part, that moving on would be a mere afterthought. She's a healer now, though, and she's learned that the initial healing is the least cumbersome.Recovery, on the other hand, that's the most difficult part.(Another slow-burn Zutara piece that takes place after the events of the Hundred-Year War)
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	convalescence

**Author's Note:**

> hey! i know that you've probably had enough of these post-war Zutara pieces, but i was bored and had some ideas and here it is! anyways, i hope it entertains you and you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it:))
> 
> \- xoxo zara

Long after she had seen her mother's burned corpse sitting in front of her and watched as her father abandoned her and Sokka to fight in the war, below the colored skies of the South Pole, Katara's grandmother would tell her stories.

They were meant for her and Sokka both, but her brother had been more concerned with being a true warrior and being prepared to protect the isolated and desolate village that was their tribe. He had only been interested in training the toddlers in her tribe to be soldiers, fishing, and putting warrior makeup all over his face with absolutely no need to. Needless to say, Sokka had not cared much about anything else. 

Katara had, though. She needed an escape from the dreary and tiring reality of her life, and her grandmother's stories always gave her hope - something to think about, dream about, aspire to become.

Her gran-gran had told her stories about every subject imaginable: ancient myths from all over the four nations, made-up tales about love, how her mother and father had met, how the avatar used to maintain balance in the world before his untimely and unfortunate disappearance.

Don't get her wrong - Katara had loved them all, listening intently, making up elaborate visuals for each story in her mind to match the words. 

However, her favorite stories were the ones about bending. The ones about waterbending had particularly interested her, which was to be expected, considering Katara _was_ a waterbender, albeit an untrained one. Her grandmother would tell her about how the waterbenders used water as an extension of themselves, and she would always dream that one day, she would be one of them. Yet, despite the fact that she could only bend water, she had also been interested in learning about the other bending styles. The way airbenders would glide in the sky, the way earthbenders would listen to the earth beneath them, the way firebenders would create fire from their own fists. 

She had taken many things from these stories, but one that had stuck with her to this day was that bending, as amazing and powerful as it was, had rules. Limits. Lines that cannot be crossed, abilities that are far too powerful to be possessed by anyone. 

When Aang had burned her hands at Jeong-Jeong's camp and she had discovered she had the ability to make burns disappear, Katara had first thought that maybe this was one of those abilities that was far too powerful to be held. 

The thought had been crushed not a moment later, when the great master had told her that she had healing abilities, and that she wasn't the only one that did. 

When she had bent the blood that coursed through the veins of another human being's body, she had not only thought that it was one of those abilities, the ones that were too powerful and couldn't be possessed. 

No. She _knew_. She knew that no one had the right to possess that much control over another. 

That's why Katara had swore to Yue herself that she would never again use this power. 

Breaking her oath on that Southern Raiders ship... it was not her proudest nor her happiest moment. But as she walked out of the ship's cabin, she promised herself. 

_Never_ _again_. No matter what the circumstances may be, she would not bend the blood inside someone else's body. She would not take away someone's free will, their control over their limbs. 

Yet now Katara stands in front of the boy who had jumped in front of lightning for her and is severely injured - the type of injured that cannot be healed by mere water - and she cannot bring herself to care. 

She doesn't care about her promise. She doesn't care about the abilities that are too powerful to possess. She doesn't even care about the fact that a waning moon hangs in the sky. 

Sometimes rules are made to be broken. 

* * *

When the stolen airship finally touches down in the courtyard of the Fire Nation royal palace, the crimson sky has almost completely faded into darkness. Stars twinkle faintly in the distance, and the only remnants of the comet that raged above them two days are seen in the form of the rare bloody streaks that are still visible, if you look closely. 

With the former Fire Lord (or sorry, the former Phoenix King) defeated and physically powerless, the war has technically been won. Yet, the four heroes are still not at peace - they won't be at peace until they are certain that the last two members of their group are safe and had emerged victorious from their battle. 

When Sokka hobbles down the airship platform and sees only a sky bison awaiting their arrival, he immediately assumes the worst. Judging by the way Suki's arm stiffens around his back and the sharp inhale Toph takes beside him, he is not alone. 

The courtyard, save for Appa, is abandoned, not a soul to be seen or sensed through Toph's feet. The four of them take deep breaths to compose themselves and decide to split up, to search every end of the palace until they find them or someone who knows what happened to them. 

Surely, they think, if Appa is okay, they must have won, right?

But then where are they?

After a few minutes, Sokka bumps into a Fire Sage. When the old man begins to lead him to where his sister and Zuko are, Sokka almost doesn't want to follow.

Ever since they were little, Katara had always wanted to know, to be aware of exactly what was going on and make a conscious effort to change it, improve it, solve it. Sokka preferred to remain oblivious, as if he thought that being ignorant would make the problems just go away. 

He has learned by now that it never does. 

He doesn't know whether to feel relieved or horrified when he steps in and finds his sister, arms littered with maroon burn scars, hands coated with glowing water and twisting above a fading starburst-shaped wound on Zuko's chest. 

* * *

For two nights and three days, Katara doesn't sleep, doesn't eat. The first night, she barely has any energy left, and pours the small bits that linger into bending blood back into all of Zuko's organs and assuring his heart continues to beat properly. When daybreak arrives, she has not let up, but has simply turned her attention to the wound that screams at her from the center of his chest. 

He would live, she had made sure of that the first night, but she continues healing through the next one and the day after. She doesn't want it to hurt him, whenever he decides to wake up. She doesn't want to be the cause of another scar. 

She longs to ask him why, why he would sacrifice his life, his important, valuable life, for _her_. But she can't, so she wonders to herself, and to herself only, since she has banned the palace staff and nurses from the room. 

She could take a break, try to heal the burns that had birthed from blue fire, take a nap, eat some dinner.

It's not surprising that she doesn't. 

She heals him continuously, except for an hour, the morning after the Agni Kai. The Fire Sages had taken her to Azula, asked her what they should do with her. She tells them to place the princess in the palace dungeon, for now, until Zuko wakes up or Iroh comes back and the waterbending peasant isn't the one who runs the Fire Nation royal palace. 

By the time Zuko wakes up on the second night, her vision is blurry, patches of her sight blocked as a result of exhaustion or pain or trauma - probably all three, maybe neither. She can't bring herself to care either way. He is delirious, murmuring random insightful phrases she has never heard of before he falls asleep once again. 

Sokka hobbles into Zuko's room on the third evening. She gasps when she sees his leg, ordering him to sit down immediately so she can begin to heal him before he can even envelop her in an embrace. When Suki, Toph, and Aang find them, she can finally breathe. 

Everyone is okay. Her family, they are all alive. After a hundred years of fighting and death and torture, the war is over. _Finally_. 

Now, all there's left to do is heal. 

She always thought that ending the war would be the hard part, that moving on would be a mere afterthought. 

Katara's a healer now, though, and she's learned that the initial healing is the least cumbersome. 

Recovery, on the other hand, that's the most difficult part. 

* * *

The afternoon of Zuko's coronation is triumphant and formal and glorious, an event that will be marked down in the history books. He is crowned Fire Lord, and it is a bit weird to think that the headpiece poking out of his hair has been worn by hundreds of Fire Lords before him. 

He calls Toph and Sokka and Suki up to join him and Aang, because this isn't only his coronation, it is a celebration that follows the end of a century-long war that has uprooted countless lives all across the four nations, and he knows he and Aang aren't the only ones that played a part in saving the world. They all did, their little group of child-heroes that had all grown up a bit too fast and know a bit too much.

He describes their important roles in ending the war and thanks them for their heroism, letting them bask in the applause and pride they have earned just as much as he has. His four friends all look a bit puzzled as to why he hasn't asked for the last member of their group of child-heroes to join them, especially Sokka, who shoots him narrowing, quizzical eyes when no one can see. Zuko feels a bit guilty when he looks out into the crowd and can make out the hurt that is poorly masked on Katara's face. 

He thinks it's worth it though, because he wants it to be special when he asks her to come up last.

"And last but definitely not least, Master Katara, I don't know how to thank her. I am forever indebted to her - she saved my life," he tells the world, "and she's probably the best healer in the entire world. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else by my side when I faced my sister." 

When he says this, Katara's smile towards the crowd is gracious and wide and it does not waver, yet Zuko can still tell out of the corner of his sight that it doesn't quite meet the light in her eyes.

* * *

While the new Fire Lord's coronation will be remembered for years to come, the evening afterparty that follows it will be remembered by few. 

In the center of the dance floor, Katara is dancing alongside Suki, Ty Lee, and a couple of the other Kyoshi Warriors.

When the evening had started, Katara had awarded Aang some slow dances, but the avatar had soon lost interest in dancing, preferring to try out the different foods that were being passed around by the palace servants with Sokka.

Zuko thinks it's better this way, because Katara certainly looks like she is enjoying herself a lot more now than she ever had dancing with Aang. Maybe it was just because dancing with your arms around the savior of the world is probably a lot of pressure, but she seems much more carefree and relaxed now than ever before. It especially relieves Zuko to see her like this after experiencing first-hand how distraught and broken she had looked in the days following the Agni Kai.

The azure silk gown she's wearing swishes and glimmers as she sways, her movements as fluid as they are when she bends her element. The single golden clip that pulls back one of her thick, chocolate locks shines in the glow of the dozens of lanterns that illuminate the beach. 

Despite the blistering heat that accompanies Fire Nation summers, her arms are covered in silvery mesh that shimmers under the moonlight, and he knows that she's wearing it for the sole reason of covering her scars. 

He can't help but think about how she wouldn't have those scars if he had just been a little less cocky and a little more cautious against his literal _criminal mastermind_ of a sister. 

When the music switches to an obnoxious tune that's requested by Sokka, everyone else steps off the floor, including Katara. She winks at Suki with a stifled giggle as she watches Sokka begin to... dance around her? - if you could call it that, which Zuko wouldn't. Suki just sticks her tongue out in Katara's direction, grabbing Sokka's hand and twirling him around. Katara stands at the edge of the dance floor for a couple moments, watching her brother and Suki goof around in front of the world like the perfect dorks they are, before she turns around, walking over to Zuko's table. 

"Hey." She greets him softly when she nears. "Never got to congratulate you, Fire Lord Zuko." She curtsies in front of him gracefully, her luscious curls falling forward and covering the smirk on her face. Zuko just rolls his eyes.

"Well, thanks," He tells her, "but that's the last time I want you to call me that." 

Sliding into the plush golden chair beside him, Katara just laughs. "Where's Mai?" She asks, looking around and failing to locate the dark-haired, dreary personality. 

With a sigh, Zuko explains, "She was here, but she felt suffocated by all the world leaders and politicians and left pretty early."

"Oh! I'm sorry you've been here alone." She says automatically, as if his girlfriend abandoning him at a party to celebrate his own coronation is her fault. 

"Stop being so loud, Sugar Queen." Toph groans from the other side of the table, her head still burrowed in her arms. Aang lay in a chair next to her, already asleep. He was a lightweight, apparently, which bore no surprise to any of them. 

He lowers his voice, for Toph's sake, as he motions to his intoxicated company and says, "Well, I haven't been alone, as you can see."

Sniffing the air, Katara crosses her arms, eyes narrowing at the numerous almost-empty golden glasses resting on the table. Only a few remnants of fire whiskey remain, but that is more than enough alcohol to produce a scent that can be deciphered easily. "This is a party, Toph. I _warned_ you and Aang not to drink, but it's not my fault if you guys don't listen to me." Something clicked in her brain suddenly. "Wait... how did you two even get the drinks? I made sure to tell all the attendants not to give you any."

Toph snorts. "A special someone got it for us." She says vaguely.

"Who..." Her eyebrows furrow as she thinks for a moment, her mouth dropping in shock when she realizes the culprit. "Zuko!" 

He chuckles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey, they told me you used to let them have it all the time when you guys were in Ba Sing Se, and to just grab some drinks for them!" 

She scoffs. "Toph, you guys shouldn't trick Zuko into doing whatever you want."

"In my defense, Sparky just makes it so easy." The earthbender drawls.

Katara ignores this, turning her attention back towards Zuko. "And _you_ , you're the Fire Lord now. You can't let anyone get the better of you any more." Her tone is casual, yet her face is serious, and Zuko knows she's talking about more than just Toph and Aang's antics. 

Before Zuko can reply, he notices a man dressed in dark blue furs appear behind Katara and tap her shoulder. 

"Princess Katara, would you like to join me for a dance?" The man asks her confidently, like no one has ever said no to him before, taking her hand and motioning to the dance floor. A glint of mischief rests in the navy of his eyes, and it rubs Zuko the wrong way. 

Plus, as far as Zuko knew, Katara wasn't a princess, right?

The smile Katara gives him is a bit too sweet to be genuine. "Thanks, Kutaq, but no thanks. I'd recommend you asking a lady who has no idea who you are, because that's the only way you'll be able to get someone to dance with you." 

The prideful grin on the man's face is immediately dropped, and he looks utterly embarrassed as he marches away from the table with a huff. 

As soon as he is out of earshot, Toph cackles. "Woah, Sweetness, you really got him good! His heart was beating so fast when he left!"

"I can't believe you turned him down like that!" Zuko says with a laugh. He's known for a long time now that Katara doesn't take anyone's nonsense, but he has to admit, the way she handled that guy surprised even him.

Katara snickers. "I know him from the North Pole. He was another one of Pakku's students. His friends and him couldn't handle that I could beat them easily after only starting my training a few days ago, so they sprung an attack on me one afternoon." She explains. 

His single eyebrow raises, and Toph raises her head up in surprise. "What?" Zuko says. "All of them just started attacking you? That isn't fair! How did you get out of it?" 

_That_ guy and his friends certainly weren't honorable, Zuko decides immediately. 

She giggles lightly, tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear. "They didn't stand a chance against me." 

_She's right about that_ , Zuko agrees silently. Out loud, however, purely out of curiosity, he asks her, "And why'd he call you a princess?" 

Katara waves him off, answering with only, "He's from the North," as if that is reason enough.

"Still," Zuko goes on, "I'm sure they don't just address everyone as a princess." 

"Well, yeah, I guess." She admits with a shrug. "Technically, I am a 'princess' since I'm the chief's daughter, but by the time I was born, our tribe was so disintegrated that royalty status was the least of our worries. Plus, that's always been more of a Northern thing." 

Her carelessness does not rub off on Zuko, or Toph for that matter. How could he forget? Hakoda was the chief, so of course Katara, and Sokka apparently, held such high status. His eyes widen, and he exhales sharply in realization. "Wait, I called you a peasant for months! How come you never corrected me?" 

She lets out a dry snicker. "You mean in between you blasting fire at me and trying to grab Aang, I should have just let you know?" Her eyes twinkle in amusement. "Plus, Fire Lord, I'd like to think that no one should be called a peasant." 

He cringes. "That's not... I didn't mean it like -" 

"I know what you meant, Zuko." She interrupts him with a frisky grin. He smiles back, and for a few seconds, it feels as though time is an obsolete illusion, and it is only him and her in the world. 

Mere seconds is all it lasts however. "Kat! Zuko!" Suki is rushing over to them, Sokka right behind her, panting heavily. "You guys have to try this, it's amazing!" She holds up a ridiculously large goblet. The edges of the glass are covered with crystalized salt, and it's filled with blood red liquid. 

"What is it? I want to try!" Toph pipes up, holding out her hand. Katara instantly reaches up and swats it away. Toph opens her mouth to argue, but Katara cuts her off.

"Trust me, Toph, you'll thank me tomorrow." She tells her. The younger girl huffs in disappointment, but doesn't retaliate, rolling her milky eyes and slamming her head back into her arms. 

Suki pushes the glass into Katara's hand. "Here goes nothing." Katara says, pressing her lips on the salt and gulping down a few sips before her face contorts and she begins coughing, her throat searching for air. " _What is this?!_ " She sputters. 

Sokka smiles proudly, putting an arm around Suki. "It's called burning lava cinnnaspice vodka. Isn't it great?" 

"No!" Katara protests, still struggling to catch her breath as she passes the goblet to Zuko. When he raises his arm to take it from her, a wave of pain shoots from his chest and causes him to wince. Katara recognizes this instantly, her expression turning from disgusted to concerned and guilt-ridden in a manner of seconds. "I can come and heal you after the party." She whispers to him.

"Thank you." He murmurs back softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you." 

It's meant as a compliment, but the smidge of bitterness that threatens her kind smile makes Zuko wonder if he's offended her somehow. 

"Zuko! Drink!" Sokka orders him, bringing Zuko out of his thoughts. He takes a big gulp out of the glass, grinning as the spicy flavors criss-cross along his tongue. 

"It's really good." He declares, causing Katara to frown in defeat and Sokka and Suki to high-five triumphantly, as if they had orchestrated the drink themselves. 

Then again, Zuko's never heard of a Fire Nation alcoholic drink with such an elaborate name, so he wouldn't put it past them. 

Suki grabs Katara's wrist, pulling her out of her seat. "C'mon, let's go dance some more." Katara allows Suki to drag her towards the dance floor, but right before they disappear into a swarm of handsy noblewomen, drunk dignitaries, and tipsy politicians, she mouths something to him.

The sky has become a dark navy sea, and the lanterns that hang above the party area provide dimmed lighting at best, yet Zuko still knows exactly what she tells him.

 _I'll see you later, I promise_. 

* * *

Katara abides by her promise, showing up at Zuko's room door when the moon has been glowing in the sky for hours. Before she came, he was thinking about telling her that she can at least come by in the morning, but when she walks in, he realizes that despite the long and exhausting day they have both experienced, she looks more awake and energized right now than she ever has in the morning. Zuko feels sorry that the rest of the world doesn't rise with the moon like she does. 

The light makeup that had adorned her face at the party is smeared, and the dark violet bags under her eyes are very noticeable under the dimmed lighting. He is sure the bottoms of his own match hers, and are probably even easier to make out due to his lighter skin. 

She points to his bed, silently demanding that he lay on his bed and get into position like she has done countless times over the past two weeks. "How'd it go with Aang and Sokka?" She inquires, pulling out a stream of water from the pouch that hangs on her left hip and beginning to ease the ache that has nestled itself atop his ribs with her bending. The water feels cool and refreshing, reminding Zuko of the time she had touched his scar back in the crystal catacombs of Ba Sing Se.

Right before he had turned his back on her and betrayed her. 

He clears his throat before informing Katara that the two boys are both asleep in their respective rooms. Getting them there had been a challenge, to say the least, but they had eventually made it. "What about Suki and Toph?" 

Katara chuckles dryly. "I didn't have as much success as you. I only managed to get them both to my room, but that's okay. These beds are huge, it's like they were made for giants or something." 

They fall into silence for awhile. The quietness is normally comfortable with Katara - the two of them don't have any problem with simply being in each other's company, but right now, Zuko swears to Agni that he can sense a deafening tension crawling between them. He can even feel it through the stress and pressure of her healing, the same healing that is usually so calm and serene. 

"What's wrong?" He questions her at last. He's been wondering it for most of the day, but he has never gotten a chance to ask her about it, and he certainly hasn't figured it out by himself. 

"What?" She looks up, her expression unreadable. "Nothing." 

He could just let it go, but he doesn't, obviously. Zuko has never been one to give up. "Something its clearly bothering you. What is it?" He tries. "You can tell me, Katara, whatever it is." He adds, and this time his voice is softer, kinder. 

She doesn't say anything at first, but eventually she sighs, guiding the water back into her skin and dropping her hands. "It's just... why did you - why did you ask me to come with you? To face Azula?" She pauses, but he can tell that she's going to continue. "You could've asked Toph. She would probably do a lot better against her. You took me and you got hit by lighting." 

He starts to open his mouth, but she beats him to it. "I had just forgiven you, and I made it so hard, and why did you ask me? Is it..." She takes a deep breath, and suddenly her voice is soft, timid, like if his answer could break her. "Is it because I can heal you if things go wrong?" 

Her mind flashes back to what had happened at the North Pole. _Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong_. 

"What?" Zuko bursts out. "No! No, that's not it at all, I swear to Agni. I asked you because I trust you more than anyone! And obviously, your healing is incredible and you saved my life with it - "

_I don't want to heal, I want to fight!_

"But the truth is, I thought you were the only one that I could completely trust to beat Azula on your own. You and her, you're both prodigies with your elements. And out of everyone Azula has ever faced, including Toph, you are the only one I've ever seen that's been able to outsmart her and overpower her." 

She blinks, and he realizes that her eyes are misty, that a single tear runs down her right cheek. 

"Really?" Her eyes are shimmery blue moons that look straight into his soul. 

"Really, I promise." He affirms. 

She laughs weakly, wiping her cheek. "Sorry, I was being so stupid. But that's all. Sorry." 

"It's not." His mouth moves on its own volition, but he doesn't regret it. 

Her first instinct is to argue, tell him he's being ridiculous, put on some act about how she's fine. But she never can, not with him, so she quickly drops the facade. "It's not." She agrees. "But it's been a long day, Zuko. That's all for tonight." 

His face drops a little, and she can tell that he's disappointed. But through that, she can tell that he understands, because it's Zuko, and Zuko has always understood her in a way no one else ever will. 

That's why he nods, wishing her good night and letting her leave his room for her own. 

**Author's Note:**

> so that's the first chapter! let me know what you guys think and if you want to see more! i love reading these types of fics and i just wrote one because i had nothing better to do. 
> 
> the next chapter should be up in the next few days, although i'm really not sure because i get unmotivated really easily lol:/
> 
> anyways though, i hope you guys have a great day:))


End file.
